He's got the most instantly recognisable head in Manga history. In silhouette form it almost rivals that of Mickey Mouses ears. Little wonder his creator was considered the Walt Disney of Japanese animation. Astro Boy has become a cult phenomenon world wide with the highly succesfull series from the early 80's contributing to its wide spread appeal amongst the masses. There had been an initial release earlier on in 1960 but when a full color remake and an english dubbed version was released 2 decades later, no one could have ever predicted what was about to happen.

Astro Boy is the creation of Osamu Tezuka, a legend of anime who created an entire history of the genre over the last 5 decades of his life. Astro Boy is his most famous work that began as a comic entitled Captain Atom which was translated from printed form to an animated TV series in the early 1960s. Tezuka didn't have as much control over the conversion and wasn't approving of the end result so it was 2 decades later that he attempted to re-do the television series the way he had originally envisioned the character in comic book form. Thus was born the great series we came to know and love.

Astro with Mum and Dad

Any child of the 80s would have grown up with Astro and his family each afternoon on the ABC. This was a cartoon with a deep moral message throughout then entire series, from caring for the environment right through to honouring father, mother and family. Included in this Deluxe DVD set are all 51 original episodes that aired between 1980 and 1981 in their original Japanese broadcast order. The only episode missing is Astro Boy vs Atlas which was the second episode to air. This is included in its entirety though as part of the bonus extras DVD, in the original Japanese dub. The episode was not included as part of the English release back in the 80s.

A favorite of this reviewers would have to the The greatest robot in the world Parts I & II where Bruton, a giant blue robot with huge horns, is going around killing all other robots to establish himself as the dominatnt robot in the world. It's up to Astro to stop the destruction. The sheer magnitude of the task was enough to keep a 10 year old captivated over the 2 episodes. These episodes were the one that closed out the series here in Australia but were created mid way through the original Japanese run.

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Why we recycle Coca Cola cans.

It's amazing how much you remember of your childhood when it comes to after school and weekend cartoons and this collection looks just as I remembered it; and thankfully so as I wouldn't like a classic tampered with in any way. If anything, I'd say the color is richer and the overall visuals are little more dynamic than I expected which is excellent. Originally framed in 4:3 aspect ratio, this collection retains that feel throughout the presentation including the menus and extras. The audio is presented in its English 2 channel stereo dub and holds up well. Fans of the series will not be disappointed with the presentation here at all.

What is most striking about this release is the packaging. This is truly a collectors item, so much so that even non collectors will be buying this release just because of how cool it is. All 11 DVDs are encased within a half thickness DVD case and fit perfectly within a metallic red tin with Astros head embossed on the top. This is truly a beautiful piece here and is a testament to the treatment the series is afforded by Madman Entertainment. When the package arrived in the office, there was a queue to check it out. Everyone wanted to see this tin, just the tin. It really is eye catching and has that 'must have' appeal to it.

Where would you be without your Bruton 33?

Within the tin are the 10 DVDs with the 51 episodes on them plus an 11th DVD containing some 90 minutes of extras as well as a 24 page booklet showcasing a multitude of original artwork as well as dedicating pages to the work of creator Osamu Tezuka. You'll also find the words to the theme song opening and closing credits as well as broadcast order dates for the Japanese release as well as the out of sequence English release.

The extras discs specifically focuses on the original Astroboy. There is the original 1960s Episode of the Birth of Astroboy, presented in Black and white with japanese audio and english subtitles. Not much has changed from the concept to the incarnation we know today. We have 2 original Japanese episodes with english subtitles of the Birth of Astroboy and Astroboy vs Atlas. Rounding out the extra episodes are a collection of comparisons from some of the original Japanese edits to their English counterparts where by we have a description outlining the edit and the reasons as well as a clip comparing the two.

Time for some fisticuffs.

The famous theme song is the focus of the next collection of extras begining with a multi angle feature allowing the viewer to watch the original storyboard for the opening title sequence, the completed product or a combination of both. Alternatively you can view a textless version of the opening and closing title sequence featuring song subtitles and the original japanese songs. If that wasn't enough, there's a karaoke version for those 80s parties you're planning to have. Rounding out the extras are a swag of galleries from the Original Manga Cover Artwork to the Merchandise to the Character profiles to the Original Character Art.

Clearly, this was a work of love from the Madman crew to produce something for the true collector. Everything that you would ever desire in this set is included right here and at around $3 an episode you can't go wrong in terms of value for money. If ever you needed a starting point for a truly collectable box set, this would have to be it.